CAA Football Week 8 Preview & Predictions: Playoff Push Starts On Saturday
CAA Football Week 8 Preview & Predictions: Playoff Push Starts On Saturday
The road to the 2024 FCS Playoffs intensifies as a full Saturday of CAA games begins the second half of the regular season.
In Week 8 and for the first time in 2024, every active Coastal Athletic Association team is in conference competition. Here’s the point in the season when things heat up, as the push for a league championship and jockeying for the FCS Playoffs intensifies.
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The stacked Saturday slate in the CAA includes a Top 25 battle between Rhode Island and New Hampshire, the return to action of No. 5 Villanova after its bye week, and plenty more contests with potential playoff ramifications.
Villanova at Maine
One of two CAA teams undefeated against FCS competition, joining Rhode Island, and tops among CAA squads at No. 5 in the poll, Villanova continues its push for a league championship after returning from a bye week.
The Wildcats went into their off-date with perhaps their best win to date, both in terms of quality and all-around showing with a 42-24 defeat of Stony Brook.
Stony Brook came in undefeated against FCS competition and limiting opposing offenses to just 51 points in four games, but Villanova broke out for its highest-scoring performance of 2024 behind freshman running David Avit.
Avit has climbed into the top 50 of all ball-carriers nationwide with 458 yards, and thrust himself into the forefront of the Jerry Rice Award conversation. He’ll look to keep it rolling against a Maine defense that has allowed 179.5 rushing yards per game and 5.5 yards per carry.
“One thing I would say about their offense is they’re able to be multiple, play to the strengths of their players,” Maine coach Jordan Stevens said of Villanova. To that end, the savvy play of quarterback Connor Watkins has fueled the Wildcats.
Villanova coach Mark Ferrante touted Watkins’ deliberate dual-threat game as a core factor. While his passing numbers are not eye-popping, he hasn’t thrown an interception this season. Watkins has also been the third-most productive ball-carrier behind Avit and Isaiah Ragland, rushing for 259 yards and three touchdowns.
The multifaceted ground game promises to test Maine’s defense. On the other end, a Black Bears offense that has shown flashes of brilliance behind quarterback Carter Peevy tries to solve the CAA’s best defense.
PREDICTION: Villanova 30, Maine 17
Hampton at North Carolina A&T
Hampton held off a fourth-quarter comeback to win last year’s encounter, the first between the Pirates and North Carolina A&T as CAA members, 26-24. Might the 2024 edition bring another classic?
Both the Pirates and Aggies had byes in Week 7, giving them opportunities to refresh and reflect on a first half of the season with highs and lows. Hampton went into the bye on the low of surrendering a late lead in its 46-44 loss to Rhode Island.
“The biggest thing is [being] mentally tough,” Hampton coach Trent Boykin said of the Pirates regrouping after their bye week to finish 2024 strong. “Everybody’s going to be banged up. Everybody’s going to have some injuries. Everybody’s going to be going through different things.
“So, the thing that I preach to our guys is at this part of the season, you have be mentally though, because that’s what it’s going to take to get you through some of these games.”
North Carolina A&T has had its mental toughness challenged through some injuries and trying losses early in the season, but the Aggies head into the Hampton game having put together one of their best performances yet under coach Vincent Brown.
A&T’s 20-17 loss at Richmond showed the Aggies’ ability to play with championship-caliber competition in the CAA – and that’s thanks in part to the emergence of Justin Fomby. Fomby’s 22-of-27, 261-yard performance with a pair of touchdown passes to Anthony Rucker was the most dangerous the Aggies’ aerial attack has looked in its two seasons of CAA play.
“Justin’s done a nice job of adjusting to being in the role as the starter, and I think our guys have really galvanized around him,” Brown said.
Building on that is one critical item for A&T in Week 8. Another is shoring up its rushing defense, which has struggled. Against Richmond, the Aggies have up 286 total yards, including 200 to Zach Palmer-Smith.
Hampton boasts one of the most explosive rushing offenses in the CAA behind Elijah Burris (441 yards, four touchdowns) and Ja’Quan Snipes (189 yards, three touchdowns) at running back, and Chris Zellous (195 yards, three touchdowns) at quarterback.
PREDICTION: Hampton 35, North Carolina A&T 27
Stony Brook at Towson
Despite going into the bye week off a loss, Stony Brook had plenty of reason to feel good about the first half of its campaign. The Seawolves jumped out to a 4-1 start before their Oct. 4 loss to Villanova, exceeding all external expectations after going winless a season ago.
Matching its win-loss mark from the early season would likely land Stony Brook in its first postseason since 2018. That road begins on Saturday when the Seawolves visit another team pursuing its first playoff appearance since 2018, Towson.
The Tigers resurrected their postseason chances with back-to-back one-score wins, first in CAA play against William & Mary, then last week with a second-half rally against non-conference opponent Norfolk State.
Towson got a pair of big, fourth-quarter touchdown passes from Sean Brown, and on special teams, Matthieu Longa blocked a punt. Also key to the win was the tempo at which the Tigers played.
“For the first time since [the current Tigers coaches] have been here, we ran a total of 80 plays on offense,” Towson coach Pete Shinnick said.
The Tigers’ ability to keep the offense on the field and moving the ball will be tested against a Stony Brook defense that has been excellent for much of the season. Similarly, the Seawolves offense faces one of the more talented defenses with a Towson group featuring four pass-rushers with multiple sacks so far on the season: Evan Rutkowski, Nchabanu Fortaboh, CJ McClendon and Will Middleton.
The linebacker Middleton also has five quarterback hurries and a forced fumble. Stony Brook’s offensive line faces a considerable task in protecting the quarterback – and whether that’s promising freshman Malachi Marshall or Tyler Knoop is an important storyline for Week 8.
Marshall missed the Villanova game, but Seawolves coach Billy Cosh said on Monday Marshall was making progress toward starting against Towson. Both are settling in as passers but each adds some to the run game to complement Walter Payton Award contending running back Roland Dempster.
PREDICTION: Towson 20, Stony Brook 17
Rhode Island at New Hampshire
Sharing a regional footprint and pursuing a conference championship, Rhode Island coach Jim Fleming did not mince words about the significance of Saturday’s visit to New Hampshire.
“New Hampshire’s a Super Bowl,” Fleming said. Now, there is an important caveat here: Fleming emphasized that Rhode Island reaching 5-1 at the midway point was a byproduct of the Rams effectively treating every week’s game as the most important game on the docket.
Given how many of Rhode Island’s games have been barnburners, each week has certainly had the feel of one continuous playoff. Getting to the program’s first formal Playoffs in almost 40 years relies on the Rams keeping it going in the back-half of the season.
They’ve put themselves in a great spot, and could even claim the CAA championship. Getting through New Hampshire is a huge task – and the same is true in reverse for the host Wildcats.
UNH comes in at 4-2 after rallying for a road win last week at Elon, rebounding from a tough non-conference setback vs. Harvard. Returning to the Top 25 ahead of Week 8, the Wildcats are well-positioned to make it back to the postseason for the second time under coach Rick Santos but presumably need no worse than a 4-1 finish to the regular season.
“This is going to be an awesome test for us,” Santos said of Rhode Island, the first challenger in this all-important stretch.
Both UNH and URI build defensively around two of the most productive and talented players in the conference: For New Hampshire, it’s defensive end Josiah Silver. Silver’s coming off a monster, four-sack game at Elon.
For URI, it’s linebacker A.J. Pena. The veteran Pena has been the heart and soul of a defense that gets into the backfield frequently – the Rams’ 6.7 tackles for loss per game rank No. 19 in the FCS – and which is limiting opposing rushing attacks to 3.7 yards per carry.
That latter statistic is significant for a UNH offense that has struggled to establish its rushing attack in this post-Dylan Laube era. The Wildcats average only 86.3 rushing yards per game, which puts a heavy burden on the arm of Seth Morgan.
Morgan’s certainly one of the most capable passers in the CAA, if not all of FCS. And, in Logan Tomlinson and Caleb Burke, he has two of the premier pass-catching options in the Coastal. But the Wildcats will need to find a way to move the ball on the ground to keep Rhode Island on its toes and not simply focusing on neutralizing the pass.
On the flip side, quarterback Devin Farrell needs his best passing game yet to keep a tenacious UNH pass-rush at bay. Farrell played his most impressive football since taking over as the Rams’ primary quarterback, leading the second-half comeback at Hampton.
URI needs more of that to stay at the front of the CAA championship chase.
PREDICTION: Rhode Island 30, New Hampshire 28
Bryant at Monmouth
Meeting for the first time outside of the Northeast Conference, Bryant and Monmouth collide under the CAA banner on Saturday at the Jersey Shore.
Monmouth is returning from its bye week, looking to rebuild the momentum it built in a three-game winning streak snapped Oct. 4 vs. Delaware. The Hawks gave the undefeated Fighting Blue Hens their stiffest challenge thus far in 2024, but could not get enough defensive stops to pull out the win.
Still, Hawks coach Kevin Callahan said that at the midway point of the season, he’s noticed tremendous strides for Monmouth on that side of the ball.
“They’ve been in some big games, they’ve been forced to make plays and not always made the plays,” he said. “But they’ve been put into those situations. We’re still not a finished product, we’re not where he hope or want to be but I think you’re seeing our guys coming up at key times.”
As the defense looks to match the productivity of the most explosive offense in the CAA, Monmouth has an opportunity to start the second half of its season moving above .500 and getting some momentum for a playoff push.
Bryant had its best shot at scoring the first CAA win in program history last week, but could not hold off reigning league champion UAlbany down the stretch. It was a promising showing for the Bulldogs, but they turn right around and have to deal with the offensive combination of Derek Robertson, Sone Ntoh, Josh Derry and Rodney Nelson.
PREDICTION: Monmouth 49, Bryant 27
Campbell at William & Mary
The meetings between Campbell and William & Mary each of the last two seasons have been thrilling, each in their own way. When the Camels last visited Zable Stadium in 2022, Tribe cornerback Jalen Jones stole the show with three interceptions.
That game marked a coming-out party for Jones, who is among the very best defensive backs in the CAA in 2024. His 13 total passes defended, with two picks and 11 pass break-ups, ranks No. 1 among all FCS players.
The Tribe return home after three weeks looking to make a statement and regroup for the playoff push. Campbell’s endured a rocky patch since starting off strong. The Camels offense may find that jump-starting against a refreshed and motivated William & Mary defense will be tough sledding.
PREDICTION: William & Mary 35, Campbell 14
Delaware at Richmond
The CAA’s two outgoing members meet for the 37th and, for the foreseeable future, last time in Week 8. Delaware’s move to the Football Bowl Subdivision next season and Richmond joining the Patriot League casts uncertainty about the two longtime standard-bearers of CAA football ever playing again after seeing each other most seasons since 1986.
“We’ve always had great battles with them,” said Delaware coach Ryan Carty, who also experienced the rivalry as a player. “You know what you’re going to get when you go play a Richmond team. It’s going to be tough, physical, sound [with] really, really good, smart football players that are always in the right spot.”
If 2024 does indeed mark the finale in their series, expect the Fighting Blue Hens and Spiders to put a fittingly thrilling punctuation mark on things. Delaware brings an unblemished record into Robins Stadium, riding a wild final seven minutes to hold off Maine a week ago and move to 6-0.
Quarterback Zach Marker threw three touchdown passes, including two to Jake Thaw. Phil Lutz had his third game of 100-plus yards receiving, and he has a touchdown catch in every game on the season. For a Spiders secondary that coach Russ Huesman noted is “a little inexperienced,” limiting Lutz and the dangerous Delaware passing game means they “have to get pressure” on Marker.
With Richmond’s front seven featuring the nation’s leader in sacks – Jeremiah Grant with 7.5 – that’s the most intriguing storyline of this matchup. How will the Blue Hens offensive line handle Grant, who has more than capable running mates in Wayne Galloway and Matei Fitz?
Conversely, can Richmond’s up-and-down offense produce enough points to out-duel the high-powered Blue Hens? Even with pressure and a quality all-around defensive presence that has held opponents to fewer than 20 points per game, Richmond holding Delaware below that number is a hefty ask.
PREDICTION: Delaware 23, Richmond 17
Elon at UAlbany
Reigning CAA co-champion UAlbany has bounced back nicely from a rocky start, winning its last two on the road to pull to .500 on the season. Saturday’s meeting with Elon is a chance for the Great Danes to really start cooking in a late-season push for a repeat conference title.
“We’re starting to understand our defense little better,” UAlbany coach Greg Gattuso said. “We’re fitting better, we’re tackling much better.”
If the new-look UAlbany defense is indeed hitting its peak now, that’s trouble for Elon coming in this week. The Phoenix have looked tough defensively, and will test a multifaceted Great Danes rushing attack that saw Jojo Uga broke out last week vs. Bryant.
But Elon’s inability to mount consistent offensive drives have doomed the Phoenix to tough loss after tough loss. The 17-10 setback last week vs. New Hampshire in which Elon’s struggles to move in the second half encapsulated the season for the Phoenix thus far, a trend that could continue against UAlbany’s improving defense.
PREDICTION: UAlbany 21, Elon 13
AFCA NCAA FCS Football Rankings In Week 8
1. South Dakota St. (5-1) - Prev. 1
2. North Dakota St. (6-1) - Prev. 2
3. Montana St. (7-0) - Prev. 3
4. South Dakota (5-1) - Prev. 4
5. Villanova (5-1) - Prev. 5
6. UC Davis (6-1) - Prev. 6
7. Mercer (6-0) - Prev. 7
8. Southeast Missouri St. (6-1) - Prev. 9
9. Tarleton St. (6-1) - Prev. 11
10. North Dakota (4-2) - Prev. 10
11. Montana (5-2) - Prev. 14
12. Central Arkansas (5-2) - Prev. 13
13. UIW (4-2) - Prev. 15
14. Idaho (4-3) - Prev. 8
15. Richmond (4-2) - Prev. 17
16. William & Mary (4-2) - Prev. 18
17. Rhode Island (5-1) - Prev. 21
18. Florida A&M (3-2) - Prev. 19
19. New Hampshire (4-2) - Prev. 22
20. Missouri St. (4-2) - Prev. 25
21t. ACU (4-3) - Prev. 12
21t. North Carolina Central (5-2) - Prev. 24
23. Illinois St. (4-3) - Prev. 16
24. Dartmouth (4-0) - Prev. NR
25. Jackson St. (4-2) - Prev. NR
Dropped Out: Sacramento St. (20), Weber St. (23)
Others Receiving Votes: Stony Brook, 36; Duquesne, 35; Chattanooga, 30; East Tennessee St., 28; UT Martin, 22; McNeese, 17; Monmouth (N.J.), 11; Sacramento St., 11; Western Carolina, 11; Drake, 8; Columbia, 6; Stephen F. Austin, 5; Tennessee St., 5; Weber St., 4; Butler, 2; Northern Arizona, 2; Georgetown (D.C.), 1; Indiana St., 1; Lafayette, 1; Lamar, 1.
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When Do The 2024 FCS College Football Playoffs Start?
The FCS playoffs begin on November 30, 2024.
The 2024 Division I FCS College Football Championship game will be played on January 6, 2025, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
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